Embedding data from MIS into metadata of a pdf

N

Northernlad

New member
HI. I'm wanting to export information out of xml / jdf and apply it to a pdf's metadata, so I can build a searchable library within Adobe bridge. Search fields wanted are for example. Cutter, printer, barcode No etc. I work in the packaging industry and have seen this done before, but unsure how to achieve it. Any help would be greatly appreciated
 
If you find info about this off the forum please share your findings. I am very interested in harnessing these types of functions myself.
 
Meta data inside a PDF file

Meta data inside a PDF file

I 'think" what you may have seen is XMP Panels.

http://www.pdflib.com/knowledge-base/xmp-metadata/xmp-panels/

Not sure - if that is what you mean, you can create you own or download / install ones that already exist...

BUT - having shared that...

You might enjoy the attached slide show

http://www.gwg.org/wp-content/uploads/The-Future-of-PDF-for-Packaging_GhentWorkgroup_-Print-13.pdf

Fast forward to the bits about OCG ( Optional Content Groups ) - slide 36-49

If you work in the packaging vertical, you probably should be paying attention to what they are working on at GWG

( if you are already familiar, great ! )

Hope this helps !
 
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Great question! I don’t have any experience with this, however some things that spring to mind include:

Is it a single XML or JDF export per job?

Does the XML/JDF and the PDF have a similar name (MIS-JOB-1234.xml & 1234_ABC9876XYZ_Art.pdf [with 1234 being the common job #] )?

How are you going to setup the custom XMP metadata fields in Acrobat and how will these work in say Bridge?


Stephen Marsh
 
I have been playing a bit…

A PDF/Document properties/Custom can easily accept metadata entries beyond standard fields as found in IPTC info etc.

It is easy enough to apply metadata templates in Adobe Bridge. One can also get “File Info” on a PDF in bridge to access various metadata fields.

Some good resources on custom XMP metadata templates can be found here:

XMP Panels
http://wiki.creativecommons.org/Creative_Commons_Panel

Of course, this is all manual.

One would need an automated or semi auto method to pull out the appropriate JDF/XML fields from the MIS export and apply them to a particular PDF file.


Stephen Marsh
 
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Anyone here with experience with Extensis Portfolio? I'm thinking it might have the server side capabilities to do something like this.
 
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Chevalier, you should reach out to an Esko ASM and ask them for the feature list of Automation Engine 14 (being released in 2014). I know they are adding a bunch of new functionality to this. Maybe they are putting in a way to populate custom XMP in PDFs via workflow.
 
Dalim's ES and Twist workflow products can work with file metadata. Metadata can be displayed, added or used to automate workflow processes as well as read, write and process JDF/XML files.
 
Thanks for all you advice. This is a scrnshot of what I'm trying to achieve.

MetaDataWithin.jpg
 
It would appear that getting the custom fields into the PDF is “relatively easy”. How does one automate the process, so that a certain job in the MIS populates the PDF with this info in an automated or semi-auto routine? What if there is no live link built into the MIS to apply the MIS metadata to the PDF from within the MIS? If one can only export out a XML/JDF file, how is this applied to the PDF? How does one ensure that the correct XML/JDF file is linked to the correct PDF and that the correct MIS fields are applied to the correct fields in the custom PDF panel?

EDIT: It would appear that CS4> apps use a new Flash based method to create custom file info panels, while older CS apps used a simpler XMP based approach. The good news is that Acrobat still appears to use the simpler XMP approach. Attached is a free MS Windows application from PoundHill software to create custom XMP panels.

The saved panel will be in a path similar to:

C:\Program Files\Common Files\Adobe\XMP\Custom File Info Panels\PoundHill.txt


Stephen Marsh
 

Attachments

  • XMPmetadata-win.zip
    1.2 MB · Views: 208
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Attached is a sample panel in XMP format from the PoundHill software, which could be manually edited if one is familiar with editing XML, HTML etc (you don’t really need the GUI application, it just helps!).


Stephen Marsh
 

Attachments

  • XMP-Panel-Sample.zip
    669 bytes · Views: 209
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Attached is a free Mac OS X Power PC application from PoundHill software to create custom XMP panels (sorry, I don’t know of any Intel Mac apps).

EDIT: This PPC app can be run if your Intel OS supports Rosetta.


Stephen Marsh
 

Attachments

  • XMPmetadata2-ppc.zip
    1.5 MB · Views: 230
Last edited:
Reviving this thread. Does anyone have a sample ticket or workflow for extracting/compiling XMP data via AE that they'd be willing to share?
 
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